Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Thursday he had no intention of resigning as prosecutors considered indicting him over allegations a businessman friend bribed him.
But an opinion poll suggested that if charges were brought, the former general who made a remarkable political comeback from controversy over bloodshed in Lebanon two decades ago may have little choice but to bow to public pressure and step down.
"I am not about to resign. I stress - I am not about to resign," Sharon was quoted as telling the Yedioth Aharonoth daily after a Tel Aviv court charged property developer and political king-maker David Appel with trying to bribe him.
An opinion poll in the Maariv newspaper after Appel was indicted found that 53 percent of Israelis believe Sharon was involved in misconduct and 63 percent would want him to step down if this were proven.
Moshe Negbi, senior legal analyst for Israel Radio, put the chance of an indictment against the prime minister at 50-50.
The case against Appel relates to a period in the 1990s when Sharon was foreign minister and also involves the Israeli leader's son, Gilad, and vice prime minister Ehud Olmert.
Appel has asserted his innocence in the case, which has yet to show evidence Sharon knowingly accepted money for political favours. Any charges against Sharon could be weeks or months away, a Justice Ministry source said.
Sharon, 75, has denied wrongdoing and vowed to co-operate with investigators.
Sharon, leader of the right-wing Likud party, enjoys broad support for his tough handling of the Palestinian uprising. But this popularity has already been corroded by the corruption scandal, set against the background of an economic slump.
Nicknamed the "bulldozer" for his settlement-planting policies on occupied land in the West Bank and leadership ambitions, he is no stranger to crushing political setbacks.
Forced to resign as defence minister in 1983 after the massacre by Israel's Lebanese Christian allies of Palestinians in two Beirut refugee camps surrounded by Israeli forces, he climbed back to the top and was elected prime minister in 2001.
The charge sheet against Appel said he had paid more than $2.6 million in an attempt to bribe Sharon and Olmert, then Jerusalem mayor, to help him push through real estate deals.
A Justice Ministry source said on Wednesday it would take some weeks or months to decide on charging Sharon. Justice Minister Yosef Lapid, a key ally in Sharon's coalition, said the prime minister would have to "draw conclusions" if charged.
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